An instant hit as he finished top scorer in his first season at Napoli with nine goals, Hamsik would go on to be an enduring symbol of the club’s rebirth in the Aurelio Di Laurentiis era.

A certain Ezequiel Lavezzi joined alongside Hamsik that season yet would move on in time, as would other former Partenopei stars the likes of Edinson Cavani and Fabio Quagliarella.

But not Hamsik. For all the talk of a departure swirling around him for years on end, the current Napoli captain has stayed true to his talismanic nature and remained in Campania.

The latest rumours concerned reported interest from Arsenal in December, per the Mirror, cropping up yet another discussion of how long the 27-year-old will stay in southern Italy.

Hamsik seemed unmoved, however. He told the Corriere dello Sport in January that he had no interest in leaving, concerned only with winning the Scudetto at the San Paolo.

Super agent Mino Raiola took a dim view on the midfielder’s lasting commitment to the cause, telling Radio CRC he believes Hamsik’s talents have been somewhat wasted in Naples.

Raiola insisted that the Slovakia international could become one of the top players in world football with one of Europe’s giants, lamenting his loyalty.

Deadline day came around a few days later, and Hamsik remained a member of Rafael Benitez’s squad, seemingly paying no mind to Raiola’s comments.

And his representative, Juraj Venglos, has now come forward to reiterate what Hamsik said last month, revealing the midfielder has before turned down the opportunity to walk away.

Venglos said to Radio CRC: “There were some huge clubs with an interest in Hamsik, but he chose to stick with Napoli. Marek only wants the Azzurri colours.

“I don’t know why Raiola said certain things, I only know that Hamsik is happy and he wants to stay with Napoli.”

Hamsik hasn’t been at his best over the past two seasons under Benitez, hitting top form only in fits and spurts, but by all indicators remains a devoted servant of Napoli.

The answer as to whether he’ll appear on English shores anytime soon appears to be a resounding no for the time being given the talk emerging from his camp.

Unless Di Laurentiis takes the decision to sell the Slovakian it doesn’t look like a divorce is on the cards, even as links with other clubs continue to crop up each time the transfer window approaches.

Ian Capasso

Ian is a freelance football journalist based in Boston, USA who fell in love with the game upon first watching Francesco Totti work his magic on the ball. After earning a degree in Politics and History from Brandeis University, he turned his attention towards the world of football journalism and is now a regular contributor to Goal.com, Squawka, Rant Sports, and Soccer Newsday in addition to his work with HITC Sport.